In Pictures: Nepal's Bhutanese refugees

After decades in limbo, refugees are leaving camps in Nepal for a new life and new homes in Western nations.

Since 2007, thousands of Bhutanese refugees have been leaving squalid camps in eastern Nepal and departing for new homes in the West. Though the older generation has long aspired to return to Bhutan, many younger refugees are excited to move to Western countries.

Of the seven camps, only two remain. They house 34,350 people, according to the UN's refugee agency, and some 76 percent of them are interested in resettlement.

Tens of thousands of ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese were displaced in the 1990s after Bhutan's government launched a "one nation-one people" policy, which many described as an ethnic cleansing project. For the two decades that followed, about 105,000 people lived in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal. About 40 percent were children. Neither Bhutan nor Nepal was willing to accept them as full citizens.

In 2007, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees started the "third country resettlement" policy. Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States all began accepting the refugees. According to the UNHCR, 69,424 Bhutanese refugees have so far been resettled in the US, with 5,563 in Canada.

Recent reports, however, say the American dream might have turned sour for the Bhutanese refugees. A 2012 report by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the rate of suicide among Bhutanese refugees is 20.3 per 100,000 people - higher than the global average of 16 per 100,000 people.

A 2014 report, Invisible Newcomers, explains some of the challenges faced by Bhutanese and Burmese refugees, who make up the two largest groups of recent refugee arrivals in the US.

These photos document life inside the camps. Many refugees have left this life behind, while those remaining patiently wait for their turn to leave.

The Bhutanese refugees are ethnically Nepali. Their ancestors migrated to Bhutan in the 19th century.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A child plays inside a camp in eastern Nepal, near the Indian border.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

For years the question was repatriation or resettlement, but eventually most of the refugees agreed to resettle in Western countries.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

The US has accepted about 70,000 refugees.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

Most of the camps in Nepal do not have electricity and people live in cramped conditions.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

About 40 percent of the refugees are children who were born in Nepal. They may never go to Bhutan but it will always be part of their identity.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

After a high number of suicides and suicide attempts among the refugees here, most are eagerly looking forward to moving on to a new home.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A classroom inside a camp.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A new country represented a fresh start for the youngsters.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

UNHCR is processing the resettlement of the remaining refugees - putting an end to two decades of legal limbo.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

The Bhutanese refugees are ethnically Nepali. Their ancestors migrated to Bhutan in the 19th century.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A child plays inside a camp in eastern Nepal, near the Indian border.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

For years the question was repatriation or resettlement, but eventually most of the refugees agreed to resettle in Western countries.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

The US has accepted about 70,000 refugees.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

Most of the camps in Nepal do not have electricity and people live in cramped conditions.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

About 40 percent of the refugees are children who were born in Nepal. They may never go to Bhutan but it will always be part of their identity.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

After a high number of suicides and suicide attempts among the refugees here, most are eagerly looking forward to moving on to a new home.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A classroom inside a camp.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

A new country represented a fresh start for the youngsters.

Bijoyeta Das/Al Jazeera

UNHCR is processing the resettlement of the remaining refugees - putting an end to two decades of legal limbo.